Players & Ponies: A TWEWY X MLP Fanfic
by Shadow51423
Summary: After his world of Shibuya is swallowed by darkness, Neku Sakuraba and four of his friends are stuck in a strange world, and when they manage to find their way back home, they find things have gone really, really wrong. Now he must team up with characters from the MLP verse in order to find his missing friends and stop an evil force bent on using Shibuya to his own sinister ends...


Players & Ponies: A TWEWY Fanfic.

Act 1: Neku

Prologue: "See You In Shibuya…" Part 1

My name is Neku Sakuraba, I'm fifteen years old, and I live in Shibuya, Tokyo… or, should I say I lived there, because it's long gone now… I guess some of you are confused, so to put it simply; Shibuya, and the rest of my world, disappeared, I don't know how, and even less so why, but it just did.

To be honest, I don't remember much about that day, except that I got up, went over to the scramble, met with Shiki, Beat and Rhyme, got a bite to eat, and the next thing I know, everything gets all dark and suddenly the whole city starts to fade away. The panic when that happened was crazy; you think Tokyo is hectic when it's rush hour? Imagine what it would be like if everyone was freaking out and running for their lives like extras for a Godzilla flick.

I lost the others in the commotion, and just as I'm about vanish completely, a bright, white light appears and I'm swept off my feet. I was blinded by the flash and couldn't see anything, but I knew it was only a matter of milliseconds before I would hit the ground and die, but just as I think I'm going to land on the pavement, I notice that I've kept falling. I continue the free fall through the void, and even after I regain my eyesight, I see nothing but white around me. Thinking this was the end for me, I reflect on my life for a few moments until, out of nowhere, a hand reaches out from the space left of me, grabs my arm and begins to pull me out of the void.

I guess I must've passed out, because the next thing I remember is waking up in the middle of the street with no idea how I got there. "My head." I groggily complain as I pull myself up from the reddish cobblestones I had been using as a bed. "Where the hell am I?"

I look around; I'm in a small, almost medieval-like town, everything is made from wood and stone, a sight you would call blasphemous back home, and there's seems to be a large wall around the perimeter of the area, with doors to my left and right, one being marked '3rd District', which seems to indicate the town is separated into sections, with each one being segregated by a wall. I study my surroundings a little bit closer, there's small café to my right, in front of me are two lampposts, both of them extremely crooked and unnatural looking, a little farther ahead is a large set of double doors. '_probably the entrance to the town'_. I think.

Looking behind me, there is a large set of stone stairs, the bottom step I appeared to be sleeping right next to, and at the top is a large shop with neon signs saying things like 'Jewelry' and 'Accessory'. Glad to know this place isn't entirely alien. There is an alleyway to the left of the shop, and to the right is a set of stairs that seems to go up and around behind the building. Lastly, to my left , tucked away between the stairs and the door to district 3, is possibly the strangest post-box, no, make that the strangest _thing_, that I have ever seen in my fifteen years. It is a red cylinder with the words 'Post' written on a wooden sign tacked onto it in huge, white letters. Normally I'd call this redundant, but in this case, it helped because if it weren't there, I would've assumed it was a trash bin or something.

Above the aforementioned sign was a black top hat with vertical lines of purple, yellow and orange running along the sides like a some sort of Halloween goth sweater. Man, even in Shibuya, this thing would be tacky as hell. Even stranger than that, is the fact that the mail slot itself is a mouth with a red, sloppy tongue hanging out of it. Whoever designed this thing must've been really, really high to think this was a good idea…

As I'm basking in the all confusing glory of this tacky piece of possible drug-induced "art", I fail to notice the footsteps sounding behind me until a familiar voice finally gets my attention.

"Why hello there, Neku."

That snobby, condescending voice can only belong to one person.

I quickly turn around and prove my suspicions correct when I find him standing directly behind me, one hand fingering the curls in his hair while the other rests idly on his hip, sporting a smug but sincere grin.

"Joshua." I say in a strange mixture of relief and annoyance.

"I see you're already doing some sightseeing. Did you have a nice a nice nap?" He asks his trademark I-know-something-you-don't attitude already in full gear.

Avoiding answering his obviously rhetorical question, I go ahead and mention the big elephant in the room. "Where are we? What happened to Shibuya?"

Joshua's grin almost instantly fades. "I'm sorry Neku, but Shibuya's gone." He states solemnly.

"What do you mean Shibuya's gone!?" I reply. I would love to think he was joking when he said that, but the look on his face reassures me that he's being dead serious.

"It's been swallowed by the darkness, and everyone who lived there went with it." He explained. Of course, like almost everything else Joshua says, it just raises more questions.

"But what about us? Why haven't _we_ gone with it too?" I quiz, frustrated by the thought that my home no longer exists.

Joshua cracks a smile, though it's very small and hardly noticeable. "That's because I escaped, and when I did I took you with me."

I'm about to accept the answer and stop playing twenty questions with him until I remember; I had been with the others that day. Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, what happened to them? Did Joshua pull them out too? Or were they left in Shibuya to disappear. My hearts sinks, the thought of losing them hurts me, the same way my old friend's death hurt me enough to want to shut myself in from the world. And right now, I really do feel like I want to run away and be alone, but I can't, not after what I did those three weeks…

"Joshua, tell me, did you get the others, or just me?" I ask, obscuring my face to avoid showing my grief to him.

Joshua sighs, no doubt feeling my pain. "I tried to get all four of you out, but I'm not sure if it worked just yet." He explains, looking at his face, which has gone completely blank, I would assume at this point he's in full "calculation mode", a state where he concentrates all his brainpower into determining the exact possibility of something happening, and while he's in this trance, it's almost impossible to get him out of it until he's done.

While I wait patiently for him to finish whatever's going on in his head, I notice the lack of sunlight and look up into the sky, and I'm surprised when I find that's it's nearly midnight. Just how long was I out? Last I remember, it was a little past noon when Shibuya vanished. So best case scenario, I was only asleep for 10 hours, worst case, a couple days, either way, it just makes me wonder what the hell happened even more.

Setting this aside for now, I look back to Joshua, who is still going at it with his inner musings. Figuring that he won't be coming back to reality anytime soon, I decide to ditch him and look around some more, after all, it's not like he's going to notice, or care.

Heading up the stairs behind me and round to the back of the shop, I see another door, just like the one going to District 3, with the words '2nd District' printed on it, which means that I'm either in district 1 or 4. I disregard it and approach the doors, there are two golden handles on each side, but there not really necessary since it can be easily pushed open without much effort, a discovery made purely by accident, as I had unconsciously walked right into it, thinking it would open by itself like every door does back home… Then again, since when do wooden medieval doors have proximity detectors?

What lies behind the door seems to be in a whole other world then the last; The faded orange cobblestones and crooked streetlights have been replaced by teal brick and lanterns that glow with a calming orange light that is completely alien compared to the artificial yellows and neons I'd spent my life under. The district is vaguely rectangular in shape, with the outside perimeter surrounded by shops and buildings. The middle of the district is lowered by about a few feet, with a staircase off to the right providing access between the two levels, and finally, on the far end of the rectangle, is what looks like an old European church, real similar to the ones I saw in some pictures my old friend showed me, except that it has a clock tower sticking out of the roof rather than a steeple.

After standing at the door for a minute to take in my surroundings, I decide to look around the area a bit more and walk over to the stairs, but just as I'm about to put my foot down on the last step, I look ahead and notice a familiar face sitting on the edge of a small fountain at the bottom of the steps, looking solemnly at her pig doll (Damnit, why do I keep calling it that, it's a cat for Christ's sake).

"Shiki?" I blurt out. It was a bit of a stupid thing to say, as for all I know it could've been Eri, but after spending so much time around Shiki while she looked the way she did, I guess it was my first assumption to think it was her.

Upon hearing me speak, she instantly looked up at me with a surprised gaze. At this point, she is either going to respond normally, or slap me upside the head for calling her Shiki.

"Oh, hi Neku." She greeted. Crisis, averted.

I calmly waltz down the stairs and take a seat on the rim of the fountain next to her. "So, you woke up here too?" I inquire.

"Yeah, just over there." She nodded, pointing to the old church-like building, "What happened, why aren't we in Shibuya?"

I cross my arms for a second to think. _How should I tell her_? I muse. _Should I just go and say Shibuya's gone? Or do I not say anything?_ I consider my options carefully; If I flat out say Shibuya's been erased, she might freak out or faint or something, and with Joshua, the only other person able to help me right now, in standby mode, that's not a good thing. If I lie and don't say anything about it, she might get angry with me when she finds out, and I'd rather not ruin a good friendship. Eventually I decide that honesty is the best route at the moment, and that this isn't a time to take shortcuts.

"I'm not one-hundred percent sure right now," I begin with a sigh, knowing this this explanation might not end well. "But from what Joshua told me, Shibuya… has been erased." I finish, fully expecting to have to fish her out of the water in a few seconds.

"What!?" Skiki gasps, "Erased!?"

I quickly catch a glance at her eyes and find they have gone almost completely blank, almost like Joshua, but more out of shock than musing.

"Shibuya, Eri, everyone, gone…" She whimpered. Without really thinking, I quickly wrap my arms around her stiff body and squeeze her tightly. Normally I'd be opposed to doing this, even if she is my friend, but right now, my comfort doesn't really matter.

We just sort of sit there awkwardly in embrace until Shiki looks up at me, her eyes slightly wet from tears, and asks me, "What about you and me? Why are we not erased?"

At this moment, I release my grip on her and quickly start to explain, "Joshua said he'd tried to get us, Beat and Rhyme out of Shibuya before it vanished, but he's not sure if the other two made it."

"Well, I haven't seen anyone other than you since I woke up." Shiki says, drying her tears on her fuzzy yellow armband. "I hope they're ok…"

"Me too." I reply. Unlike the hug, which was only to comfort her and never had any meaning to me, these words are genuine.

"There you are." A voice from above startles us, "It's not very polite to run off on someone during a conversation."

We both look up to find Joshua standing on the ledge above us. Just how long has he been standing there? Hopefully not long enough to have seen the hug…

"Joshua!" Shiki gasps, abruptly crashing my train of thought.

"Hey Shiki." He greets, jumping down from the balcony and landing softly on the ground beside us. "You look a little… different." He smirks. Good thing he brought it up, I had meant to say something but I forgot while I was holding her.

She slowly sighs and turned to look at her reflection in the water, "I know, ever since I woke up I've looked like this. It doesn't make sense, why do I have Eri's appearance again?"

"Sorry, but I have no idea." Joshua just shrugs.

Well, this is confusing, Joshua not knowing something. It's like the worlds been… well, maybe this isn't a good time for this analogy.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" I sharply interject, "Aren't you supposed to be the composer?"

"Neku, while I _am_ the composer, I'm only the composer of _our _world."

By this point, my frustration with him has reached a level only rivaled by my hatred of tacky mailboxes, "What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" I shout.

"I'll try to explain it to you," Joshua said, unfazed by my outburst, "but first you need to calm yourself."

I take a couple deep breaths and try my best to cool my temper, "Alright, I'm fine, what's happening?" I asked as calmly as possible.

"Well…" Joshua starts. Already this is looking like it's gonna be a mouthful. "You see, our world is just one of many million that exist in this universe." He says.

"Like, planets and stuff?" Shiki asks. I know what Joshua is getting at, and she doesn't have quite the right idea, but I'll have to admit, she's kinda cute when she's all innocent like that.

"Close, but not quite. What 'm talking about it more akin to other dimensions then it is to planets." Joshua corrects. "Think about it this way, imagine if every star in the sky was another world, one that, while similar to ours, is also very different."

Shiki looks up into the sky for a few moments before nodded her head in understanding.

"What rules may exist or not exist in our world may or may not exist here. That means that my powers are very limited until I can get a feel for them."

"And what about Shiki? What happened to her original appearance?" I ask.

"I'd assume it would have to do with the fact that this world is dreaming." Joshua replies.

What?

Ok, of all the crazy things I've heard anyone say, assuming that a world would dream would have to be _the_ trophy-winner of them… But then again, Joshua is basically the equivalent of god, so he probably knows what the hell he's talking about.

"So, how does a world dream?"

"It's a concept I've only heard about from Mr. H, but it goes like this; when a world is swallowed by darkness, much like ours just was, it doesn't really disappear. Instead, it is taken to a place outside reality, but inside existence. It's a sort of limbo where the world stays until it is truly consumed by whatever forces lie there."

I ponder this explanation for a moment before nodding, "So, it's like when Shiki became my entry fee in the game?" I promptly ask. That second week was probably the most guilty I've ever felt in my life.

"Yes, it's the exact same thing." Joshua affirms. "Anyways, when a world gets swallowed and taken there, it goes into a state of sleep, where in the world shuts down from reality. At this point, the world begins to relive its life through sleep, but because the rules of reality have been bent, events start to become warped versions of themselves, much like how we humans experience dreams."

I don't really catch all of what he's saying, but I nod anyways.

"So, is it possible for a world to come back?" Shiki questions.

Joshua begins to play with a lock of his hair idly, "It's very complicated, so I'll spare the details and just say it's possible." He says, "Normally when a world is restored, it wakes up from sleep and begins to function under the rules of reality normally again…"

It's at this point that I put two and two together.

"But sometimes it fails to wake up?" I finish for him.

"Precisely," He nods, his face beaming with a huge grin of approval, "It would seem that this world was taken by darkness at one point in time, but when it was restored, it failed to awaken from its sleep, meaning that it is still dreaming."

Alright, I get the idea so far; Shibuya's been taken by "darkness" and placed in some sort of limbo, and that this place was swallowed as well, and though it was returned,it didn't wake up properly, so it's stuck in a "dream". It makes sense… but there's one thing I still don't get.

"What does this have to do with Shiki though?" I finally ask. _There's something he's not telling us_.

The wince that Joshua let's off, while very brief and almost unnoticeable, confirms this. "Well, when I said I had pulled you guys out, I was sort of lying… see, I didn't really save your bodies, that would've taken too long and needed too much effort to achieve in the timeframe I had. Instead, I only gathered up your dreams, as it was faster and had a much better chance of success."

Well, now I'm back to square one on the 'Understanding what the hell is going on' meter.

"So, if we're just dreams, how are we able to have bodies?" Shiki quizzed, cuddling her Mr. Mew doll in her arms as she spoke.

"Originally, I had planned on taking you somewhere where I could use my powers to recreate your bodies… But while I was searching, this… "Traverse Town" suddenly appeared." He replied with an idle gesture to the scenery, "When I got here, I had noticed how the laws were bent and realized that this world was sleeping. After some research and a few experiments, I found out that, in a sleeping world, dreams take physical form."

He then promptly demonstrated by pulling out a small, glass-like shard that glowed with a cobalt blue shine. For a few seconds, it just sat there in his outstretched palm like a normal shard of glass would, but suddenly it began to pulsate rapidly until, without warning, it floated out of his hand and slowly hovered over towards us.

"This is called a 'Dream Piece'." Joshua said while Shiki and I examined it closely. "It is the building block of all dreams, a sort of sleeping atom, if you will."

Curious, I stretched my hand outward towards the shard and scooped it up, where it seemed to float just above the skin of my palm. "So, this is what our bodies are made of right now?" I asked.

Joshua nods, "More or less."

I stare at the shard as it pulsates in my hand, fascinated. _This is what dreams are made of_. That old, cliché saying has for the most part become literal. I pull the shard closer to me and attempt to touch it with my other hand, but as soon as I do, it reacts and disappears into a flash of red and blue lights, almost like it were a firecracker blowing up in my palm.

"If dreams take physical form here…" I ponder aloud, standing up from my seat on the rim of the fountain, "That would mean that, in Shiki's dreams, she still looks like Eri." I conclude. Looking over at Shiki, I see her nod in conferment of this theory.

"That would be logical. After all, most people who win the game tend to have dreams about their experience." Joshua comments.

It is when he says this that a terrible realization dawns on me; if victors of the game often dream about their experience, and those dreams take physical form in this world, then, if Beat and Rhyme were here, there's a chance one of them could've been affected in the same way. Like, what if Beat became a Reaper again? Or what if Rhyme lost her memories? _We have to find them_, I say to myself, _or else something bad could happen_.

"Joshua." I address, "Do you have any idea where Beat or Rhyme are?"

"No, I've been trying to scan for them, but It doesn't seem to work properly in this world."

"We need to go look for them; I have a feeling that they need help." I say.

Shiki also stands up as well, "Yeah, we can't just leave them alone here, confused and lost…" She agrees.

"Alright then, let's go find them." Joshua smirks.

We head up the stairs and back into district 1, where any sign of presence other than Joshua's and my own is not felt.

"It doesn't seem like anyone's been through here." I say.

With nothing of interest present in district 1, we walk down the steps where I first woke up and head over to the door to district 3, passing by the freakish mailbox once more. Man, it just creeps me out that anyone would design something so utterly nonsensical and weird. Ignoring that for now, we push open the doors and enter into the new district.

Again, just like what happened when I first stepped into district 2, it feels like I've entered a another world entirely; while the teal coloring of the stonework is kept, the rest of the district is completely different. It's roughly square shaped, with high, blue walls covered in lights that bathe the streets in the same familiar electric yellow as Shibuya. In the middle of the square, past the walls, is a small, level area with a checkered pattern on the floor, and out in the corner is a large, golden statue of two dogs eating spaghetti… I don't really get it, but whatever, someone apparently thought it was worthy of a thousand-dollar mural.

The only thing this place lacks is what we're looking for, "Damnit, I don't think they're here either…" I say. Looking off to the side, I see a door labeled 'District 2', that means that there's nowhere else to go that won't take us to someplace we haven't been before.

"Let's go back to district 1 and look for another place to look." Shiki suggested.

Joshua and I both agree, and the three of us begin to turn back, but when we reach the door, I hear a female voice cheerily call out, "Hey! There they are! Told you we'd find them!"

A wave of relief washes over me; the voice belonged to Rhyme, and by the sounds of things, Beat was with her.

We turn around to see them both approaching us from the door to district 2, guess they must've arrived there right after we left.

"Beat! Rhyme!" Shiki shouts with glee as she hugs both of them, "You're all right!"

While Rhyme seems to understand and gives her a cheerful smile, Beat just seems to be confused, though to be honest, he's always confused.

"Uh, Shiki? You feelin' alright?" He asked, desperately trying to worm his way out of her iron-clad embrace.

Shiki resealed her grip and backed up a bit, "Of course I'm alright! We've just been worried sick that we couldn't find you!" Shiki said. _You mean YOU were worried sick_, I thought… ok, I guess I was too.

"_You_ was worried? Me an' Rhyme 's been lookin' everywhere for ya!" Beat exclaims, "An' where the hell are we anyways?"

Joshua, Shiki and I all look at each other for a moment, "Do you want the short version or the long one?" I ask.

We explain to them everything we know so far; Shibuya's fate, this Traverse Town and its current state, and about the dream pieces. Rhyme seems to get the idea, but Beat, as always, has about as much understanding as a deer in headlights.

"W-what?" He stammered, dumbstruck, "I didn't get any of that yo!"

"Oh well, at least we tried." Shiki giggles.

"Ok, so all five of us are here." I say, "What now?"

I guess none of us were really planning ahead, since we just seem to stand there in silence, thinking.

"I guess the only thing left is to go back to Shibuya…" Shiki finally says.

"An' how the heck are we gonna do that?" Beat replies.

I begin to search my thoughts for an idea. _How are we going to get back home_? I wonder, and then it hits me; _If this world was rescued from the darkness, then it's possible ours can be too_.

"Joshua." I begin, "You said this world was once destroyed by darkness, and that it was later restored, right?

"That's right." Joshua confirms with a stern nod.

"Do you have any idea how to restore a world to its original state?"

He frowns and shakes his head, "Unfortunately, that information would only be available to Mr H. I know nothing other than the fact that it is possible."

_Mr H_… What happened to him anyways? Did he escape too? Or did he vanish like everyone else?

"Do you know if Mr. H got out of Shibuya?" I quiz. I really hope so, because right now, he's our only hope of getting things back to normal.

Joshua shakes his head again, "I don't know. If he did, he's not here, or else I would've sensed him. He's either long gone, or taking refuge in another world, either way, he's out of our reach."

"So we're on our own?!" Shiki exclaims, "Great, now I feel like we're playing the game all over again…" She sighs in disappointment.

_Yeah, back in the game_... I thinks _Wait a sec… that's it_!

"I have an idea," I burst out, "Joshua, you said that Shibuya's current state is very similar to what happened to Shiki in the second week of the game. In that case, wouldn't it be possible for us to bring it back if one of us played the game again and made it our entry fee?"

"If that assumption is indeed correct…" Joshua replies in a thinking-out-loud manner, "Then it's probable enough to be worth a shot."

Shiki's face lights up with joy and, out of nowhere, she hugs me tightly, "Neku! You're a genius!" She compliments cheerily. I want to squirm out, but I'm too preoccupied with surprise to do anything.

"I don't think it's time to rejoice just yet guys…" Rhyme informs sagely.

"It's like, A real good idea yo… but, how are we gonna enter the game again without any reapers ta run it?" Beat adds. For once, he's actually showing some legitimate wisdom… now I _know_ we're dreaming…

Shiki, realizing this, releases me and sheepishly backs away. "Right, I hadn't thought about that… how _are_ we going to enter the game again?"

"Simple," I say. I, unlike Shiki and Beat, who do things one step at a time, plan ahead… though, to be honest, I did the same thing until I learned skill from Joshua. "We use the memories in our dreams-"

"To create a new game." Joshua suddenly interrupts, finishing my answer for me. Looks like me and him were on the same page, as we always are nowadays.

You know, it's funny really, in a physical sense, we're worlds apart; considering he's the composer while I'm just another lowly player in life's game, but for all that, we still have so much alike: We're both really smart, though, to be straight with you, most of my vocabulary and smarts I picked up from him. We both have similar taste in food and fashion (Even so, who the hell wears button up shirts all the time in this day and age?), we both admired CAT, and most of all, we keep our values close. But for all that, we still have our subtle differences, mostly in our opinions and ideas. Now, sometimes they can line up with each other, like they did just now, but at other times they clash, and it's this that makes it so hard to understand people. Even after I'll I've done to open up, I still can't get it, but I guess it doesn't matter, just as long as you trust them... man, know I really hope Mr. H got out of there in one piece…

Getting back to the matter at hand, I give a nod of confirmation, "If we pull this off, we might be able to restore Shibuya to its original state." I say.

"But what if we fail? What happens to our world then?" Shiki asks skeptically.

"Then… I suppose Shibuya will be erased for good, and us along with it…" I answer reluctantly with a sigh.

A wave of apprehension washes over us. This plan is risky; on one hand, we stand the chance of reviving Shibuya and returning our lives to normal, and on the other, we face the possibility of losing our world, and our existences, forever.

"Look." I speak up, breaking the solemn silence, "I know it's a risky idea, but without Mr. H to help us, this is possibly the only way we're ever going to get things back to the way it was."

Another wave of silence passes before Shiki finally becomes the next to speak, "I'll enter the game again, for Shibuya… and for Eri." She resolves.

"…I'll enter too!" Beat proclaimed just after, "I'm not gonna jus' sit here on my ass while our town's fate hangs on the line!"

"Count me in!" Rhyme chimes in, "After all, four heads are better than three, right?" It's supposed to be 'Two heads are better than one', but whatever, it works.

The four of us, all playing the game together… just like old times, huh?

"So it's settled then, the four of us are going to enter the game, and Shibuya's our entry fee." I say with confidence, "Are we all ready?"

A collective nod from the group signifies a yes.

"Alright." I turn to Joshua, whose already grinning smugly with pride, "You know what to do?"

"Yep I'm all ready." He simply states, "Listen though," His voice grows stern and his grin fades, "While you're in the game, I won't be able to directly help you, but I'll try to support you anyway I can." He explains. "So, you ready for your fourth game, Mr. Big shot?"

I chuckle a little and give him a challenging smirk, "Bring it, J."

The next thing I remember is the four of us being enveloped in a ray of light and feeling a sense of weightlessness as we are swept off to determine the fate of not only Shibuya, but our own existences as well…

End of Prologue, Part 1…


End file.
